Passport And Criminal Cases: Faqs

QUERY #1

Can past juvenile criminal records cause a passport application to be rejected even after attaining majority?

ANSWER:

The short answer to your question is NO. Past criminal cases cannot prevent you from getting a passport.

Although it is mostly dependent on the gravity of the offence committed, for most cases it should not be an issue to get a passport if the trial has ended and the convict has been punished. The laws relating to these are contained in the Passports Act of 1967, whose Section 6 covers the reasons why the Passport Authority may refuse to issue a passport to an individual.

Sections 6(2)(e), 6(2)(f), 6(2)(g), and 6(2)(i) are the clauses related to this case that may be cited as a reason by the Passport Authority to refuse to issue a passport. They are:

1)    If the applicant was convicted by a Court in India within five years before the day of application, in an offence involving moral turpitude and has been punished for the same for a term not less than two years.

2)    If the trial for a case in which the applicant has been alleged to have committed an offence is pending in Court.

3)    If the Court has issued any warrant of summons or arrest of the applicant or if the Court has issued an order prohibiting the applicant from leaving India.

4)    If it is of the opinion of the Central Government that the issuance of a passport or other travel document to the applicant is not in public interest.

These clauses are given to ensure that the applicant is available in the country during the course of the trial.

Since the criminal records pertain to the past, it should not be a reason for the Passport Authority to refuse to issue the passport.

I hope this helps. Thank you for your time and patience!

QUERY #2

I have applied for a passport and is pending police verification. I have a pending case against me from my sister in law suing our whole family.

Can this affect my passport application? Will this result in me failing passport verification?

ANSWER:

The short answer to your query is NO. It won’t be possible to get a passport.

Since the case is a criminal case that is pending as of now, it is not possible to get a passport issued. The Passports Act of 1967 clearly specifies in its Section 6(2) that the Passports Authority may refuse to issue a passport to an applicant if there is a criminal case pending on him. Section 6(2)(f) specifically mentions this, stating that if the proceedings in a case where the applicant has been alleged to have committed an offence is pending in a Criminal Court in India, the Passports Authority may refuse to issue the passport. This is done to ensure the presence of the applicant within the country until the Court proceedings are completed and to prevent them from fleeing the country to escape punishment.

Therefore the Passport Authority will most probably refuse to issue the new passport.

I hope this helps. Thank you for your time and patience!

QUERY #3

I had a juvenile case charge against me when I was sixteen years old. It was closed around that same time. Can this case affect my passport application? Will it get rejected?

ANSWER:

The short answer to your question is NO. Past juvenile cases will not affect passport renewal.

The Passport Authority has the right to refuse the issuance of the passport if it has been found that the applicant was involved in a criminal case that is still pending in Court. Section 6(2) of the Passports Act of 1967 deals with this. When the same is read with the current issue in mind, these are the following reasons that can result in the Passport Authority refusing to issue a passport:

1)    If the applicant has been convicted by a Court in India for an offence involving moral turpitude and imprisoned for a term not less than two years, within five years before the date of application.

2)    If the applicant has been alleged to have committed an offence whose proceedings are pending in any Criminal Court in India.

3)    If an arrest warrant or a summons has been issued by a Court in India against the applicant or if the Court has issued an order prohibiting the applicant from departing India.

These reasons can result in the Passport Authority refusing to issue your passport.

In this case, since the case happened in the past and has been closed by the Court, it should not be a reason for the Passport Authority to issue your passport.

I hope this helps. Thank you for your time and patience!

QUERY #4

My father has a cheque bounce case pending against him. We had already paid the amount of 40,000 but the complainant still filed a case in Court due to personal grudge.

Since my father has applied for a passport, will it get rejected due to the pending case of cheque bounce?

ANSWER:

The short answer to your question is NO. The cheque bounce case should not be a problem.

Since the case in question is a cheque bounce case, and since you have already paid the complainant the required sum of money, if proof of the same can be shown in Court, the case will not be prolonged. Since the Negotiable Instruments Act of 1881 mandates that Courts should strive to dispose of cheque bounce cases within six months from the date of the complaint, and since recent Supreme Court judgements have directed the lower courts to support out of court settlements in cases of cheque bounce, this case should not be a problem. 

The Negotiable Instruments Act lists out the procedures to be followed before a complaint of cheque bounce can be filed in court, wherein it is stated that the payee must send a legal notice demanding full payment of the specified amount within thirty days of receiving the information of the dishonour of the cheque from the bank, and the drawer must reply to this notice by completing the said payment within fifteen days of receiving the notice. If the drawer does not reply within fifteen days, then the payee may file a complaint in Court. Since you have already replied to the notice by paying the full amount, a case of cheque bounce does not exist anymore.

A legal debt or liability is a major constituent of a case of cheque bounce since without it, such a case cannot exist. Since you have paid the full amount, such an unfulfilled debt or liability does not exist.

But, if the case is admitted in Court and is pending at the time of application for a passport, it is possible that it may be rejected by the Passport Authority as per the Passports Act of 1967, which in its Section 6(2) states that if the proceedings of a case in which the applicant has been alleged to have committed  an offence is pending in a Criminal Court in India, the Passport Authority may reject that application.

The Supreme Court has observed that the offence under section 138 is a civil case under the guise of a criminal one. Which means that although cheque bounce is classified as a criminal offence as per the Negotiable Instruments Act of 1881, it is a civil case in its basic nature. Cheque bounce was criminalised only in the 1988 amendment to the Negotiable Instruments Act, with the intention of providing a certain credibility to payments made through cheque and to avoid its exploitation by those with ill intentions.

Owing to these reasons, the Passport Authority should accept your passport application.

I hope this helps. Thank you for your time and patience!